Donald Trump Muslim comments do not tarnish view of US religious freedom abroad: Ambassador

Speaking as he presented the State Department annual report on religious freedom, David Saperstein, the U.S. ambassador at large for that issue, was asked whether the comments made his job of promoting religious tolerance in foreign nations harder.

“Countries across the globe … they see clearly the basic constitutional, institutional constraints against violations of religious freedom in the United States, and I think see clearly and believe deeply in America’s promise to be a model about treating all people equally without regard to religion,” Saperstein said.

“That is clear and that is not tarnished by the statements here,” he added. “No matter who is elected, the institutions and the United States’ constitutional constraints will ensure that we continue along the line we have for the last 200 years.”

At the time, Trump’s comments were condemned by the White House, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and some of the candidates then vying with Trump for the Republican presidential nomination. More recently, the parents of a Muslim American Army captain killed in Iraq took Trump to task at the Democratic National Convention over his rhetoric on Muslims, prompting a spat that triggered renewed criticism of the Republican candidate.
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Democratic presidential nominee Clinton’s lead over Trump in the Nov. 8 presidential election increased to more than 7 percentage points in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday, from less than 3 points on Thursday.

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